SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 9 July 2020 - Microsoft todayannounced a set of new features in Microsoft Teams that make virtualinteractions more organic and engaging, supporting the global shift into a morehybrid model of work, learning and life.

With the newMicrosoft Teams features, users can enjoy greater connectivity, reduced meetingfatigue and more inclusive meetings, all while saving time. These features --including together mode, video filters, live reactions, touchless meetingexperiences and more -- start rolling out in preview today and will be fullyavailable later this year.

"Over the last fewmonths, we have worked with experts across virtual reality, AI, andproductivity research to better understand the future of work. These findings,published here, have been usefulin guiding us to design these new features. Our research has shown that many ofus feel less connected since moving to remote work, hence we want to bring amore human element into online meetings. We also want to streamline theirexperiences across apps and devices, with technology like AI to save time andimprove overall well-being, which is of highest importance during this time,"said Rosalind Quek, General Manager, ModernWork, Asia Solution Sales at Microsoft Asia.

Enhancing connectionbetween users and reducing meeting fatigue

• Togethermode: Microsoft Teams willnow have a new meeting experience that uses AI segmentation technology to digitally place participantsin a shared background, making it feel like they are in the same room witheveryone else in the meeting or class. The mode makes meetings more engaging,and helps users pick up on non-verbal cues that are so important to humaninteraction. Together Mode with auditorium view is rolling out now and will begenerally available in August.
• Dynamic View: Buildingon the meetings enhancements announcedlast month, the dynamic view allows users to personalize the view to suit theirpreferences and needs. This includes the ability to show shared content and specificparticipants side-by-side. 
• Video filters:Before joining a meeting, users can now use filters to adjust lighting levels and softenthe focus of the camera to customize their appearances.
• Reflectmessaging extension: Employee well-beingis critical in ensuring productivity -- this new feature allows managers,leaders and teachers to easily check in on how their teams or students arefeeling through questions in an online poll. This will be available in thecoming weeks. 

Making meetings moreinclusive, engaging and effective for teams and students

• Live reactions: Users can now react during meetings usingemojis, supplementing non-verbal cues that can be difficult to notice in onlinemeetings. Microsoftis also bringing PowerPoint Live Presentations to Teams in the future,enabling more audience engagement.
• Chat bubbles: The Chat feature has become a lively spacefor idea sharing without interrupting meeting flow. Chat bubbles allow allchats sent during a Microsoft Teams meeting to appear on the screens of all meeting participants, making the chat more central to the conversation.
• Speakerattribution and translation: Withspeaker attribution, everyone knows who is speaking. Live transcripts andtranslations, available later this year, provide a way to follow what has beensaid in more than one language.
• Interactivemeetings for more than 1000 participants: Microsoft Teams meetings cannow support 1,000 participants, and up to 20,000 participants to watch apresentation or discussion.
• Microsoft Whiteboard updates: Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams will soon be updated with new featuresincluding faster load times, sticky notes, text, and drag-and-dropcapabilities. These will enable team members without access to a touchscreen toparticipate in whiteboarding sessions.  

Helping usersstreamline their work and save time 

• Tasks app: Tasks app in Microsoft Teams provides a new unified view of tasks across Microsoft To Do, Planner andOutlook, whether a user is on desktop, web or mobile.  
• Suggested replies: MicrosoftTeamschats will now include suggested replies, using assistive AI to create shortresponses based on the context of the previous message. This feature will rollout this month. 
• Touchless meetingexperiences: As some people return to physical workspaces,touchless meeting experiences in shared spaces are more important than ever. Microsoft Teams now allows people to join meetings and sharecontent to meeting room devices from their own mobile device or PC, with thesame capabilities available on Surface Hub later this year. The Teams mobile appwill also include a new room remote, with additional meeting controls,and voice commands to join and leave a meeting or call someone from theiraddress book. Another experience will allow users to wirelessly cast toany Teams Room, collaboration bar or Surface Hub device, enabling seamlessad-hoc and in-person collaboration for people in a shared space.

To get started on the preview, users may log in to their personal Microsoft account on the Microsoft Teams mobile app,available for download on the iOS or Android app store. General availability of the new features is slated for later this year.

For more information, see here to find out more about these newfeatures.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digitaltransformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Itsmission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet toachieve more.